China's machine-to-machine connections far outpace the US and Europe's -- and the country shows no sign of slowing down.

While the US is still gearing up for the Internet of Things -- where formerly "dumb" devices and systems automatically communicate with each other -- China is already well on its way down the IoT path.

A recent report from the GSM Association shows that a massive collaboration between the Chinese government and national telecoms China Mobile(NYSE:CHL), China Telecom(NYSE:CHA) and China Unicom(NYSE:CHU) has helped propel the country into machine-to-machine communication dominance.

But China isn't stopping there. The country has made IoT one of its top priorities over the next five years, and it's currently in the processes of creating hundreds of smart, connected cities that can automatically monitor everything from pollution and noise levels to street lights and real-time public bus locations.

Check out the slideshow below to see how China's pulled off one of the most connected M2M countries, and how investors can benefit from this new tech movement.